TITLE: Baby Makes Three
AUTHOR: Finey_McFine
RATING: PG13
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other BtVS characters, as well as some random dialog, belong to Mutant Enemy. ALL other original characters belong to me! Mention of any ‘real’ people in this fic is brief and pure fantasy.
SUMMARY: Totally AU! Willow Rosenberg is a senior at Sunnydale High. She and her friends are bullied relentlessly until Willow stumbles upon a huge secret and decides to take matters into her own hands. There is no Hellmouth, just lot’s of teen angst, self discovery and of course Willow/Tara goodness...eventually.
Thoughts are in italics FEEDBACK: Yes! Any glaring issues…please send me a PM!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hi Everyone and Happy Sunday! As promised, I have a much longer chapter for you today:) It answers a much debated and burning question. Enjoy! *****************************************************************
Chapter 16
Willow sat in the darkened living room, with her feet curled up on the couch watching TV. Only she had no idea what movie or if it was even a movie at all. She was completely lost within herself as visions of Scott and Tara together continued one after another. Like some sort of slideshow from hell. The later it got, the more anxious Willow became. She’d never experienced feelings of extreme jealousy like this before or had she?
Her mind wandered to Xander and if she felt this way when he started dating Anya or when he looked at other girls or made comments.
No. Sure she was jealous, but it was different and not as all consuming and intense. Willow was starting to see the difference between the two and she was beginning to entertain the possibility that not only did she have
more than friendly feelings for Tara, but that those feelings had definite implications.
“Oh boy,” Willow said out loud before siting up straighter. “Could I actually be gay? As in gay-gay?” She searched her mind for any previous signs and managed to conjure a long forgotten memory of a third grade teacher’s aide, Miss. Cooper.
Miss. Cooper was doing a college internship and had made a habit of winking at Willow whenever she answered a question correctly. Willow remembered how she was smitten with the young teacher’s aide and would always volunteer for special projects; just to be able to spend time with her. Willow also remembered being crushed when she saw the young woman kissing her boyfriend one day after school. “
Similar feelings...” Willow mumbled to herself. She then switched her mind back to Tara.
Um hmm, definite feelings. Lesbian, gay type feelings.Willow was jarred from her thoughts by a loud noise that startled her. It was someone coming through the front door. She jumped up and made her way from the family room to the front of the house.
“Hey,” Willow said as she saw Tara, looking disheveled and dumping her things on the floor by the door.
“Hi,” Tara answered flatly. Willow could tell the blonde was moody and decided to stay quiet. Tara looked up and saw the apprehension on Willow’s face and her voice softened slightly. “Sorry, I’ve just had one of those nights.”
Willow smiled, nodding in acknowledgement, “Okay.” She wasn’t sure what Tara meant by that or if she even wanted to know. Her mind was still back in the family room and focused on the new revelation.
“Will, can you give me a hand with something?”
“Sure, what?”
“Follow me,” Tara said as she marched back out the front door to the passenger side of her car and pointed. “It’s more of a someone than a something.”
Willow’s eyes narrowed as she strained to look through the darkened window at the rumpled figure slumped in the seat. “Is that Buffy? What happened?”
Tara nodded, “She got drunk, threw up and passed out. Scott helped me put her in my car and I brought her home; her Mom’s out of town.”
Scott. The mere mention of his name made Willow’s skin crawl. Her eyes drifted to her feet and her brows knitted tightly as she involuntary began to fidget.
Tara noticed Willow’s emotional shift, but decided to let it go for now. They definitely needed to talk, but now wasn’t the time for deep conversations. “So, I’m gonna open the door and unstrap her and I figured we could each take a side.”
Tara opened the door and Buffy involuntarily slumped forward. “Wow, she’s really out of it. How much did she drink?” Willow observed.
“No idea. Okay she’s unstrapped.” Tara groaned as she struggled to get Buffy to sit up so she and Willow could hoist her out of the car. “Buffy! Buffy! Wake up!!” Tara shouted as she lightly slapped Buffy’s face.
The girl groaned and her head rolled backwards. “What’s...where...ohhhhuuumphhhh.” Buffy was incoherent, but was able to throw an arm around Tara’s shoulder; allowing the blonde to lift her so Willow could take up her stance on the other side.
Once Willow was in place, they started to clumsily move forward, with Buffy half walking and half dragging her feet. Suddenly Buffy moaned loudly and lurched her head forward; projectile vomiting across the lawn.
“Ewwww, gross!” Willow exclaimed.
“Shit!” Tara said. “Buffy! Buffy! Damn it, come on, let’s get her into the downstairs bathroom.”
“Alright,” Willow groaned as she struggled to help keep the girl upright.
Several minutes later the girls managed to get Buffy to the downstairs bathroom without any further incident. Buffy dropped immediately to her knees and threw up several more times in the toilet while Willow held her hair and Tara kept her head upright and over the toilet. When she was finally done, they sat her on the covered toilet as Tara wet a wash cloth and began to clean her face and wipe through her hair. She grabbed a hair-tie and pulled Buffy’s long blonde hair back into a loose ponytail to keep it from falling into her face; just in case she needed to throw up again.
“Here,” Willow said to Tara, returning from the kitchen, “I got her some of Chelsea’s Pedialyte. She needs to stay hydrated or we’re gonna have to take her to the hospital.”
Tara looked up and smiled at the helpful redhead. “Thanks, good idea.”
“Um Tare, not to throw a monkey wrench in here, but your Mom is due home in about thirty minutes.” Willow reminded Tara, lightly tapping the face of her watch.
“I know. Buffy? Buffy? Here drink some of this. It’ll make you feel better, okay?”
“Kay,” Buffy moaned as Tara made her sip some of the liquid through a straw.
“Do you think you can make it upstairs?” Tara asked.
“Umm hmm...think so.” Buffy replied, as she seemed to become a little more coherent.
“You think you’re gonna get sick again?” Willow asked, but was met with Buffy shaking her head.
“Alright then, let’s do this.” Tara resumed her position on one side of her friend and Willow on the other as they attempted to get Buffy upstairs before Jen arrived home. It wasn’t as if Tara didn’t feel like she could tell her Mom, but she knew if she did, then Jen would feel obligated to tell Buffy’s mother and she knew Buffy would never forgive her. Tara also knew that if Buffy got any sicker, then she would have no other choice. Buffy’s life was more important than keeping this a secret. It took some time and crafty maneuvering, but they finally succeeded in getting Buffy into Tara’s room. Unfortunately, with all the clanging and stumbling, they’d woken up Chelsea.
Tara pulled an air mattress out of her closet and left Willow to inflate it while she took care of her daughter. By the time she made it back, Willow had not only filled the mattress, but made the bed and had Buffy comfortably tucked in; with a trash can, clean washcloth and a bottle of water by her head.
“Wow, thank you.” The blonde said, genuinely grateful for Willow’s kindness.
“No problem, I figured you could use the help.” Just as Willow finished, they heard Jen coming in the door downstairs. “Your Mom’s home...” Willow said, stating the obvious.
Tara nodded, “Hey, why don’t you spend the night? It’s l-late and I um, I t-thought we could talk.” Tara said shyly.
“Oh, well...where would I sleep?” Willow motioned to Buffy sprawled out on the air mattress.
Tara ducked her head, “You could um, s-sleep with me? You know, cuz my bed’s a double and all. I would have put Buffy up here, but I didn’t want to get barfed on.” She giggled softly.
Willow couldn’t help but grin. “Okay.” Of course she would stay in Tara’s bed! It was a no-brainer. Buffy was passed out cold and this would give her lot’s of Tara-time. With minimal interruptions. Willow was slightly nervous, but giddy at the same time; two conflicting emotions the redhead was starting to get used to.
“Just let me give my mom a call.”
Tara nodded, “I need to go let my Mom know too. I’ll be right back. Oh um, you can wear these. You’ll be more comfy.”
Willow nodded, accepting the offer of a pair of Tara’s pajamas the blonde had pulled out of her dresser drawer.
“Thanks.”
***************************************
After Tara left the room, Willow called her mom before changing her clothes. The pj’s were a little big, but Willow turned down the elastic waist band on the pants and knotted the shirt on the side; showing off a sliver of her tummy. By the time Tara got back Willow was already in the bed sitting cross legged and playing with her phone.
“Everything okay with your Mom?” Willow asked.
“Yeah, yours?” Willow nodded as Tara extended her hand. “I brought us sodas and popcorn,” She said grinning playfully, “I guess, taking care of a drunk makes me hungry.”
“You didn’t eat at the at the party?” Willow asked.
Tara shook her head, “No, all I had was a soda. You never know what people put in open drinks or food at those parties. It was kind of a weird night.” Tara sighed. The door was opening for the girls to talk without any distractions and Tara wanted to make sure she took advantage of the opportunity.
“Wha-What happened?” Willow stammered nervously.
“Nothing,” Tara said, locking eyes with Willow. She wanted to make sure Willow knew that absolutely nothing happened.
“Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me, I mean I know it’s your personal business and I didn’t mean to be so nosey and-”
“No, I mean
nothing happened...with, you know...”
“Really?” Willow whispered in relief. “But I...I thought you liked him?” Willow held her breath.
Tara shrugged her shoulders, “I thought I might...I don’t know. He’s nice, but he kinda rubbed me the wrong way; not literally, of course.”
Willow giggled, “Of course.” To say she was relieved was the understatement of the century.
“Anyway, right before Buffy got sick, he was trying to get me to have a drink and I said no, but he didn’t want to let it go and neither did Buffy. She was being a total bitch, then she suddenly threw up and Cordy wouldn’t help me. She just stepped right over Buffy and never batted an eye. God, sometimes I really hate high school.”
“Just sometimes?” Willow said sarcastically, “What did she say...Buffy I mean?”
Tara shook her head, “It doesn’t m-matter.” Tara ducked her head in a feeble attempt to spare Willow’s feelings. Unfortunately for her, Willow wasn’t stupid.
The redhead nodded, “It was about me again, wasn’t it? Because they saw us together at the game, right?”
Tara sighed deeply, “They were just acting stupid, I can handle them.”
“Tara, maybe I’m over stepping here but, why do you hang out with them? I mean, you...you’re different.”
Tara’s head ducked again and her eyes went to the comforter as she picked at the fabric. She knew this question was coming and she’d been dreading it. What could she say? That she felt like she was just as shallow and vapid as the rest of them? That she’d friended them for personal gain? What could she say to Willow that wouldn’t make her sound like a complete idiot and not send the girl running?
“Tara?” Willow whispered.
Tara shook her head, “I’m not,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Different,” Tara breathed, finally looking up to Willow with watery eyes.
Willow could see the pain and self loathing in Tara’s eyes and desperately wanted to comfort her. She moved the bowl of popcorn from between them and reached out; placed a soothing hand on Tara’s knee. “No, you are. You don’t think you are but...you could have just left Buffy there, like Cordy did, stepped over her like she was trash-”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Tara interrupted, “I never could have left her there, that much is true, but you asked me why I’m friends with them.” Willow stayed quiet and allowed Tara to continue. The blonde took a deep breath, “It’s a long, complicated answer. You sure you’re up for it?”
Willow gave Tara’s knee a gentle squeeze. “You can tell me anything, you don’t have to hide, okay?”
Tara nodded. “So, Cordy, Harmony and I go way back, to before I moved to Idaho back in junior high. We cheered together for the pee wee football league my brother played in and we all took dance classes together. It was fun and the only thing outside of the church my father would allow. Then we moved to this small town in Idaho so he could open his own church and try to control more than just his family. All I ever wanted was a ‘normal’ life, to fit in and not have every part of my life controlled. I wanted it so badly that I ended up doing things that I knew my father wouldn’t approve of. I went to parties, stayed out late...you know, rebellious teenage stuff. Anyway, he clamped down pretty hard and that made me want to rebel even more. I started secretly dating this guy, Steven, he was pretty popular and his father was a big wig in local politics.”
“How long did you date?”
Tara sucked in her bottom lip, trying to recall exactly how long before answering. She wanted to be completely honest with her friend. “Off and on for about a year, I think? Anyway, you can probably see where this is going.” Willow nodded in agreement. “I was so angry with my father for taking me away from my friends and my life, I did everything I could that I knew he would disapprove of. Including sleeping with the son of his arch rival. Steven and I were in one of our
on periods and well, I-I thought I was being careful, but I guess not careful enough. Anyway, in a small town, everyone knows everyone else. So you can’t really go up to the drug store and get condoms and there certainly isn’t any Planned Parenthood locations.”
Tara puffed her cheeks and blew the hair out of her face, before continuing. “I did things for all the wrong reasons...”
“If you could go back, would you change them?”
Tara shook her head honestly, “No, because what I got in return was worth it. There’s just, some things I regret.”
Willow swallowed hard, terrified of the answer to her next question, but she needed to know. “Did you love him?”
Tara shrugged her shoulders, “I thought I did, at the time, but not really. I stayed with him because...because it was all I had that was mine, you know? My Dad he...he controlled every part of my life and punished me severely for stepping the least bit out of line. I don’t believe in his values or his teachings and when I got pregnant...he went completely over the edge.” Tara paused, her hand slightly shaking and took a sip of her soda.
“What happened?” Willow asked. She was still confused and trying to make sense of everything Tara was telling her.
“Well, the shit hit the fan. I didn’t show for a while and was able to keep the pregnancy a secret, but he found out when he intercepted a package of prenatal vitamins I’d ordered online.”
“So no one knew?”
“Oh no, I told my Mom and Steven knew.”
“So, where is Steven? He’s not...I guess I don’t understand.” Willow said.
“When my Dad found out, he went ballistic and threw me out of the house. I went to Steven for help and his parents freaked. H-He um, h-he told them I was the town w-whore and that the b-baby wasn’t his. He convinced them I made it up to get money.”
“Tara, that’s horrible and they believed him?”
Tara shrugged, “Sure, why not? They didn’t want a big scandal. His Dad was running for congress.”
Willow’s eyebrows shot up, she was completely caught by surprise. This was like something out of a really bad soap opera; these things just didn’t happen in real life.
“Congress?”
Tara nodded, “Yep, Congressman Richard Wilkins of the thirty-ninth district. No way he was going to have this get out, he’s been in that town forever.”
“So, if you left and your Mom stayed, how did you both end up here, together? I mean, you seem pretty close...”
“We are, after the disaster with Steven, I went back home and my Mom gave me enough money for a bus ticket to my Aunt’s house in Oregon. Then she left my Dad, took the car and drove over a few weeks later. We stayed there until after Chelsea was born and then moved back here last summer. My grandmother passed away and she left my Mom the house and her car.”
“Wow,” Willow breathed. She was still having a hard time wrapping her head around everything that Tara had told her.
“I know, sometimes I can hardly believe it myself.”
“I’m sorry.”
Tara cocked her head, “For what?”
“For everything you had to go through. It must have been so scary and now here you are raising a child all on your own.”
Tara flashed Willow her signature half smile, “Well, I’m not totally alone.”
Willow caught her eye and smiled as her face turned bright red with the implications of Tara’s statement. “You know what I mean.” Willow said shyly, playfully slapping Tara's knee. “So, you never did answer my question...” Willow said coyly.
Tara smirked, “You’re not gonna let it go are you?”
“Nope, I stand by my initial statement that you’re not like them and it doesn’t explain why you hang out with them. Tare, I know they’re your friends, but even you have to admit...they’re not firing on all cylinders.”
Tara laughed, totally amused with the redhead. “About a month or so after we moved back, I ran into Cordy and Harmony at the mall. I was by myself with Chelsea and they were so happy to see me, it was just like old times. They um, they just assumed she was my sister and I never corrected them, especially after they invited me to try out for the squad. I never intended on lying about Chelsea, it just...happened. God Willow, I just wanted to fit in and have some semblance of a ‘normal’ life. I didn’t want to be
that girl with the baby. I wanted to just fall back into something familiar; I kind of went through a weird stage.”
Willow looked at Tara curiously, “What do you mean?”
Tara sighed, “Well everything was fine at first and then I stated to realize...they weren’t the same girls I knew before. They w-were different and in my desperate attempt to fit, I...I tried to be something that I’m not or rather
someone that I’m not. I got caught up and did -
said, some things I’m not very proud of.”
Willow nodded, remembering back a few short months ago to their less than stellar run-in at the water fountain. “So, why keep hanging out with them?”
“I’m beginning to wonder that myself,” Tara said, laughing nervously. She was relieved to get it all off her chest, but also apprehensive and worried that it would somehow damage her delicate relationship with Willow.
“Tara?” Willow said, waiting for the blonde to make eye contact. “Thank you, for telling me.”
Tara nodded, reached out and squeezed Willow’s hand.
“Thank you, for listening and um, for not judging me.”
Willow squeezed back and then laughed, “Oh I’ve done plenty of judging, especially before I got to know you.”
“And now?”
Willow looked up, meeting Tara’s eyes and still holding her hand. “Now I see the
real you and she’s smart and funny and a wonderful parent and she’s...she’s my best friend.”
Tara’s heart leapt into her throat as she took in Willow’s words, she never seen a more sincere look on the redhead’s face and as she blinked, a single tear trickled down her cheek.
Willow reached forward and wiped the tear away with the pad of her thumb. “C’mere,” Willow said softly as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Tara’s shoulders and hugged her close.
Tara was surprised by the suddenness of Willow’s actions, but melted into the hug none the less. Willow was warm and soft and the best thing was that it was genuine hug, not just a quick and friendly everyday hug. It was meaningful and probably lasted longer than it should between two friends, but neither girl seemed to care.
Tara snuggled closer to Willow and whispered into her ear, “You're my best friend too.”
Willow grinned widely and hugged Tara tighter. When their
more than friendly hug finally did end, both girls yawned simultaneously and then giggled.
“I’m sleepy,” Willow said in as adorable little girl voice.
“Me too,” Tara replied and wondered how in the world she would ever get through a night in a bed that close to Willow.
I happy that Tara dragged Willow into a picture as well. 
finally Tara has fallen for Willow. I hope it's not too long before those feelings are reciprocated. 
or I'm gonna cry. *runs away to go read a story where Willow and Tara are already together to wash the taste of Scott advances from my mouth*
I’m glad you are still sticking with it! I was a little worried that because I didn’t get right to the smoochies that people would get bored or lose interest. Hopefully I can keep people interested even after 
